A report from the Athletic has revealed that Tottenham were able to negotiate a great deal for the loan of Clement Lenglet to North London from Spanish giants Barcelona, thanks largely to the La Liga side’s precarious financial situation.
French defender Lenglet joined Spurs on a season-long loan at the start of July (TottenhamHotspur.com). The signing of the experienced centre-back offers further squad depth and real quality to the Tottenham back line for the season ahead.
His parent club meanwhile have had a bizarre summer. It’s public knowledge that the Catalan club are in a dire financial situation, yet they have still managed to sign players like Robert Lewandowski (Sky Sports), Raphinha (The Athletic), and Jules Kounde (Sky Sports).
Barcelona desperately need to reduce their wage bill in order to register these new signings, as per La Liga rulings. This desire to offload players is something Spurs seemingly used to their advantage, according to a report from The Athletic.
While the report takes a deep dive into the messy situation behind the scenes at Barcelona, Tottenham fans may find it interesting to learn that the loan move for Lenglet looks like a sweet deal for Spurs, now we know more about the wage structure involved.
The Athletic reported: “Clement Lenglet, who Barcelona managed to move to Tottenham Hotspur on loan, will have over 50 per cent of his salary covered by his parent club.”
Considering the fact that Lenglet was reportedly earning £194,000 a week at Barcelona (Capology), that means the Spanish side are still paying at least £95,000 per week for Lenglet to play in England.
Spurs Web Opinion
There were some who doubted the move for Lenglet at the time, but he’s been impressive in pre-season and he brings a winning mentality and proven experience at the very highest level to the Spurs defence. Add to this the fact that Spurs are paying less than half his wages, and the Lenglet deal looks like an absolutely brilliant bit of business.
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